Chapter Text
The Gong family, one of the last clans that have not fallen under the influence of Wufeng, lived in the Jiuchen valley high in the misty mountains. Their large estate was well protected and removed from the outside world. Their residence was segmented in different courts each belonging to the 4 different branches of the family along with the Sword wielder's quarters and the Ancestral Halls. The 4 lineages were Jue, Shang, Yu and Zhi, and each were specialized and had a different role to play within the Gong clan. The Zhi lineage specialized in poisons and antidotes that can be used with hidden weapons. Their branch housed the clinic, an apothecary shop managed by none other than the famous poison genius Gong Yuanzhi.
The clinic itself looked like it was invaded by plants. Dried herbs hung from the ceiling, while many grew from pots all lining up the shelves and windows. The apothecary wasn't enclosed and many wild vines had grown from the roof and hung downwards on the wooden pillars. The shop sat in the middle of a field of grass and various plants within the large courtyard. Though the many halls within the court remained entirely empty of any personnel or members, the workshop itself was always bustling. It always had dancing lights of fires running, vapors emanating from the clay pots brewing and a frantic shop assistant running all over the place fanning flames.
~~
Yuanzhi was tirelessly working at his shop, wiping sweat off his forehead as he finished prepping some ingredients. For some unknown reason Yuanzhi felt a lot more tired than usual. He had difficulty staying focused and the manual prep of crushing herbs seemed to be wearing him down physically. Sure he had woken up to a massive order of anti-poison immunity pills, but it wasn't anything special or out of the ordinary.
It was now past mid-day, and more than half the pills were done. Yuanzhi took a deep breath to look at the rays of sun filtering through the hanging vines, wondering when the day would end. He disliked days of long repetitive work, and today it was taking a heavier toll on him.
The orders were made for an excursion led by Gong Shangjue, head of the Jue branch. The Jue lineage were the ones responsible for the clan’s external affairs and business. This time he was assigned to meet with an allied clan in order to maintain diplomatic relations. Each of the dozen guards accompanying him needed at least 2 doses of the pills in case of a Wufeng attack, which were unfortunately common. Wufeng never passes off a chance to kill Gong Shangjue the Gong’s most influential and strongest member, which made Yuanzhi’s job of keeping them alive more challenging. The pills themselves couldn't neutralize Wufeng’s always varying poisons, but were good enough to keep them alive until they reached the clan. At which time, Yuanzhi could determine and craft the antidote needed for his patients.
Yuanzhi was in fact, the master of poison and the clan’s medicine and hidden weaponry expert. His workshop just like his work ethics were spotless and meticulous, which were expected due to the nature of his work. Any small mistake could cause the death of a clan member, and Yuanzhi was more than aware of this fact.
So it came as a surprise, when his personal attendant and only shop assistant Fei looked over his shoulder and noted the decoction had a strange color. Having worked with his young master for over 10 years, he had never thought that the day would come where Yuanzhi could make a mistake. At that moment, Yuanzhi snapped out of his thoughts. Though shocked, he only furrowed his brow and glared at the realization. Fei could almost feel the air freeze as Yuanzhi stared at the “greener than it should” decoction sitting in front of him.
“I - just remembered, I have a prescription to deliver to Miss Zishang for her sleeping troubles,” quickly said his assistant, as he hurriedly bowed, picked up a vile and exited in fear, promptly closing the door behind him.
Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Fei whispering something to the guards before dragging them all the way out of the courtyard. Yuanzhi signed in relief, once he noted all three of them had gone far enough away. He then swiftly took the pot off the fire and threw it outside. The pot shattered and its content splashed and absorbed into the soil beneath it. Yuanzhi noted how that patch of grass would probably not regrow anytime soon. Which irritated him more. This was giving him a headache.
“How can these mistakes keep happening…” he thought. It wasn’t the first time this week… The fatigue was clearly catching up to him.
Though he made potions for a living he never really made any for himself… Frustrated, he went to the back of his workshop. He started pulling open drawers left and right, grabbing a variety of ingredients, before coming back and slamming them on his workstation. Quickly he got them brewing in a pot full of boiling water, as he fanned the flames impatiently. Once satisfied with his work he added honey and downed the whole thing. He hoped it would kick in soon and ease his headache, so he could focus on his work.
“FEI !" Yuanzhi shouted, eyeing the door of the courtyard. He waited 3 seconds before adding “I know you're there Fei, Miss Zishang doesn’t need arsenic to help her sleep!” …well, unless you want her to drop dead, he thought, smirking.
The courtyard doors then burst open revealing a panicked Fei walking over, examining the contents of the vial he had randomly taken from the shelf. He fell to his knees, in front of his young master waiting for instructions.
Yuanzhi stared at him before picking up the vial from his hand and playing with it. He then got a brilliant idea.
“You know the formula for the pills, finish the rest of the orders.”
“But it’ll take all day, I still have to deliver the patient's requested remedies,” Fei replied worriedly, eyeing the medicine case.
“I'll deliver them." Yuanzhi said, walking over and grabbing it.
Fei bowed in acknowledgment as Yuanzhi exited the workshop with the bamboo case full of vials. An angry Yuanzhi was never good to be around. And Fei was relieved their interaction was short. Though he was now by himself to finish what should have been his young master’s work.
~~
Several deliveries later, he was on his way to meet Miss Zishang to give her pills she requested to help her sleep. Miss Zishang was the daughter of the head of the Shang lineage. They specialized in forging and crafting weapons for the clan. He often received deliveries from her, as she made the hidden weapons for him based on his designs.
Yuanzhi spotted in the distance someone exiting the Shang residence. He was dressed all in black, hair neatly in a bun and a sword at his side. It didn't take him more than half a second to recognize him. Jin Fan… Gong Ziyu’s jade guard and the last person Yuanzhi wanted to interact with, except maybe Ziyu himself…
“Yuanzhi gongzi making the deliveries himself, how rare.” Jin Fan smirked as they both stopped to glare at each other.
“What happened to Fei, did you finally overwork him to death?”
Yuanzhi paused, eyebrow twitching. Their interactions were always limited to throwing sarcastic comments at each other, and often ended in fights. That was especially true since the murder of Gong Hongyu, the previous Sword Wielder and Gong Hanyu. Following the death of his father and older brother, Ziyu had suspected and thrown Yuanzhi in prison due to a deadly poison being the cause of their deaths. Yuanzhi on the other hand believed the true successor should have been Gong Shangjue and that Gong Ziyu was incapable and underqualified for the role.
“What are you doing here?” Yuanzhi questioned, crossing his arms. "What happened to babysitting Ziyu?”
He could see that that didn’t sit well with Jin Fan. “It’s Sword Wielder to you now, show some respect,” he spat angrily.
“He doesn’t deserve it,” Yuanzhi said, walking past Jin Fan, making sure to dump into his shoulder on the way. Jin Fan turned around drawing his sword halfway, the sound of steel resonated, but Yuanzhi remained unbothered as he continued along. Jin Fan was ready to lash out, but then remembered why Yuanzhi had come here to do. Frustrated, Jin Fan sheathed his sword, and could only watch as Yuanzhi disappeared in Zishang’s residence. He couldn't fathom how someone could be so infuriating.
~~
The sun was starting to set as Yuanzhi had just finished giving out the last vial from his wooden case. He stared blankly at the sky turning different shades of orangy-pink as the gentle wind blew past him. He sighed. Many servants, guards, and even members of the Gong family he passed by had given him weird stares like they had seen a ghost. He supposed he hadn’t personally delivered anything in at least a year or so. So it was a surprise for them but they weren't necessarily happy to see him either. He was always dubbed as a scary freak for his obsession with poisons, and so, never bothered to interact with anyone. It meant the job was usually entirely reserved for Fei.
As he walked back to the Zhi residence, he wondered how his “Ge” was doing. Though from different branches, Gong Shangjue had taken him under his wing from a young age following a large-scale Wufeng attack 15 years ago that had massacred the Zhi lineage leaving him as the sole survivor of his branch. They were inseparable. Yuanzhi looked up to him and always aided him while Shangjue was always protective of his didi. Lately though, the appearance of Qian Shangguan had put a rift between them. Yuanzhi had a suspicion she was a Wufeng spy but needed evidence. Shangguan, in Yuanzhi’s opinion, was trying too hard to get Shangjue’s thrust and attention. Her attempts were annoying to witness especially when they somewhat worked. He knew Shangjue wasn't naive and was only testing her, but nonetheless he hated it. Not wanting to be in her vicinity, he decided to move out of the Jue residence into the abandoned Zhi one. At least he was closer to the apothecary he worked at and had some peace and quiet.
“Yuanzhi gongzi” Fei greeted, as he stepped in his workshop.
“I see you finished all the pills, great job.” Yuanzhi remarked, seeing all the pills well packaged and stored in a box ready to be handed over. Fei beamed over the compliment.
“Yuanzhi gongzi,” Fei asked. Yuanzhi nodded for him to continue, as he sat down and started rubbing his aching temple. “Shangjue gongzi has invited you for a meal before he departs on his assignment tomorrow.”
Normally Yuanzhi would have happily obliged, but this time the fatigue and headaches were weighing on him.
“Tell him I can’t attend, that I’m too busy tomorrow,” Yuanzhi replied, before adding, “...and after you deliver the order to Shangjue, you can take the rest of the day off. You’re dismissed for the night.”
“Yes, thank you gongzi.”
Fei bowed and promptly exited. He was happy to get the day off but also worried for his young master. Gong Yuanzhi hadn’t been looking well the past couple days and him refusing Gong Shangjue’s invitation was rare and another bad sign.
Yuanzhi got up from his desk once the throbbing of his temple subsided and exited from the back. He headed deeper into the compound where no one else was allowed and entered a secluded greenhouse. There, in the middle were 2 vibrant blue flowers, the Chuyun Chonglian, both in their own pots and encased in a protective glass. One looked bigger and more aged than the other. Per his routine, he checked up on them both before heading to his chamber in an adjacent hall to retire for the night.
~~